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Hawaiian Electric Receives Industry's Top Honor

Hawaiian Electric Receives Industry's Top Honor

Edison AwardWashington, D.C. -- The electric utility industry's highest honor--the Edison Award--was presented to Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) at the 63rd Annual Edison Electric Institute (EEI) convention in Orlando, Florida. The Edison Award honors distinguished leadership, innovation, and contribution to the advancement of the electric industry for the benefit of all.

HECO earned the 1994 award for exceptional application of efficient electrotechnologies. The company was honored for meeting customer needs to control energy costs and reducing Hawaii's dependence on imported oil. HECO did so by introducing and marketing heat pump water heating technology on a mass scale. These systems heat water by extracting heat from the atmosphere or from waste heat from building air conditioning systems. It's an electrotechnology that saves energy and money by replacing fuel otherwise burned to heat water, and can help central air conditioning systems work more efficiently.

HECO gained near-universal acceptance of this commercial water heating technology in Hawaii and demonstrated how utilities can use emerging electrotechnologies to create new markets and economic vitality. By 1994, commercial heat pump water heaters had been installed in half of Honolulu's high-rise apartment buildings with a total of 35,000 individual units, eight hospitals, and 30 resort hotels.

In accepting the award, HECO President Dan Williamson said, "In today's competitive times, electrotechnologies provide the means to help our customers meet their energy needs in an economical and environmentally sound manner. We are fortunate to have one of the most effective marketing teams in the industry and we are honored that this program has received national recognition."

Finalists for the annual Edison Award are chosen by a panel of trade press editors. The winners are selected by an EEI panel representing academia and current and past EEI chairpersons. EEI is the association of U.S. investor-owned and international electric utilities, whose domestic members generate and distribute more than three-quarters of this nation's electricity.

June 15, 1995